Leading up to the Bottom Gear 4,848 trip

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HomeMadeSin
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Leading up to the Bottom Gear 4,848 trip

#1

Post by HomeMadeSin »

HomeMadeSin wrote:As I started to write this up, I got carried away. So I'll try this in two threads: prep and then the actual trip.

As noted in my intro, I came late to the street legal motorcycle scene – prior to 2005 I was off road only. But now after about 10 years or so, I enjoy both sides of the pavement. Texting cagers still freak me out, but I assume all are out to get me and so far that has worked.

Fortunately for me, in 2008 I developed a friendship with a Canadian work colleague who was much more hardcore about motorcycling than I was. We started to plan an epic road trip on 2 wheels to the Arctic Ocean and back. It kicked off in June 2009, with most of us on V-Stroms. If interested, that ride report is here: http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/s ... t-10254120

Time for another epic adventure...

After that Alaskan trip, we did a few long rides but nothing on the same scale. One in particular was a ride from Castle Rock, CO to Larry Miller Sports Park in Tooele, UT for AMA racing; then to the Black Hills, and eventually Saskatoon, SK aboard a pair of Ducati 900SS bikes, a 1000 Multistrada and a Victory Vegas Eightball with big bore kit and straight pipes. Yes, we were a motley crew and even mixed it up with a few tornado chasers....

Enter 2014 – conveniently 5 years after Alaska (nice round number). At a work event in Canada with a few beers decimated, we hatch our next long ride. We're going to do the Canadian Maritimes; an idea borrowed from the business owner of my Canadian counterpart who was planning to ride the Trans-Canada Highway from coast to coast. I won’t drag you through all of the iterations of the plan, but it started something like this: We’ll do it on pre-70 bikes. Add that Sturgis 75th Anniversary was in August and the Indy MotoGP is the following week. We’ll do both and then start our journey through the Maritimes. Just a quick note: the year prior we did Indy and rode the track - with virtually no speed limit (only our fear as the guide took off like a bat outta hell). Truly worth it.

Since the rowdys at Sturgis frown on anything not hog-ish – and we are not into loud, chrome ass piercings – we quickly arrived at the only metric "friendly" (at least post 1980 when they were built in the US): the Mighty Goldwing. Unfortunately for me, I did not have the funds nor the time to make it happen in 2014, so it slipped into 2015. And I was intently focused on 1980 – 1982 Goldwings to keep true to the US-built intention, especially if Sturgis was involved. Jeckyll (my Canuck friend) already had a 1975 Goldwing so he was set on that. Various others toyed with going on the trip but talk is cheap.

The Search Begins…

So my Craigslist scouring begins and it’s amazing to me now how many good deals can be had on these bikes. Keep in mind I was looking for a US built bike for the reason mentioned above and I also preferred the look of the factory fairing. After some rather brutal heckling from Jeckyll, I eventually relented and agreed to stick to the Gen 1 era, especially since we decide to ditch both Sturgis and Indy - some of us have to work after all. Along the same time, a longtime friend of mine (we’ll call him the Honeybadger, which will be explained later) expressed an interest in joining – the head count is now 3.

So, I found an interesting C/L ad near a foundry my company owns – how convenient since it’s only 45 mins from work but 1.5 hours from home. It’s for a 1977 Goldwing and he is asking a whopping $850. Before I could get up there, I saw one in Co Springs for $1000 – went to look at it and it was scary. My hopes were diminishing, but I was determined to follow through. I get up to Longmont to check out the $850 bike. The owner had a classic Triumph and another Honda; an elderly gentlemen who seemed to know his stuff. He’d had the bike for at least 30 years and it needed some attention. But you could tell it wasn’t abused or ragged out. Clean title, comforting confidence about its history – SOLD!

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While the bike did not run and it wasn’t a beauty queen, it had many upgrades already: 1100 carbs, fork brace, Dyna ignition, Vetter fairing, and hard bags. In addition, plenty of chrome bits and extra parts including side panels. The foot pegs were gone in favor of floor boards and the key to the ignition was different from the storage; tires were dry rotted and deflated and the brakes seemed to stick. No biggie. This is March. The ride is scheduled for late August/early September. Plenty of time...

Procrastination

Well, once I rolled it off into my garage it sat. And sat. And sat. I eventually tightened the intake fittings and added some gas to see if she would fire. It wasn’t until I shot some starter fluid into the intake did she respond. She just would not run on the gas from the tank. To make matters worse, a puddle of gas appeared below the motor after sitting for a few minutes. I hope the tank isn’t porous…I checked the compression (cold) and got a consistent 120 psi – bear in mind my house is at 6,200 feet ASL.

A college friend of mine (Ike) who rides in the DC area learns about the ride via some posts on Facebook. He is interested and wants to know if we are serious: yep, no backing out now. He manages to find a very clean 1978 at a local Harley dealership, believe it or not. $1,500.
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Meanwhile, Honeybadger found himself a very clean 1977 within a day’s roundtrip from him (Pittsburgh) for about $2k. It runs and has been well taken care of, with a just a few tweaks needed for the journey. I pushed him to get his endorsement and passport, which took quite a bit of coaxing since he is so dear to money. His ride is a bit more...ahem...of an appearance-focused bike than I like. Especially given the adventure-style trip we are taking.

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After researching more about these early Goldwings, I came to the conclusion I just didn’t want to spend more money on the 1100 carb set-up. I couldn’t find any 1000 carbs for sale that I liked or proximate to me, so I decided to do the Weber mod. I just liked the look and wanted to be different so I pull the trigger via Randakk’s (manifolds) and Redline. It is now 21 July. The kickoff date is 29 August near Pittsburgh. Time to get hustling.

Last minute cramming

When the Randakk manifolds arrive complete with instructions, I realize just how involved this project is going to be. I also decide that I will not rely on the factory fuel pump; instead I find a K&N electric fuel pump sized for a task such as this (FYI model 81-0400). I had also ordered 6mm fuel hose, front brake pads, rear brake pads and all of the various other parts I need to complete the carb conversion. Ripping the old carbs, filter and manifolds is tricky but cathartic. I clean and prep the new manifolds with high temp stainless steel paint. I fabricate the brace and other parts for the conversion, customizing it a bit for my ride at the same time (no secondary cable). I opted for the oval face-up air filter – this will haunt me later. I get the front brake cylinders pulled for rebuild. It is now 12 August.

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I manage to force a car or two out of my garage so I can command reasonable space to get much further along during the weekend two weeks prior to kickoff. The wheels come off, front brake cylinders go back on. Pulled the rear. Time to get the new meats installed (Heidenau K60 Scouts). Rear brake slave cylinder pulled and pads replaced.

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The pressure is now on. It’s weekend prior to departure. Time to put everything together. The new rear tire makes it difficult to reinstall the rear wheel, especially when you leave all of the rear baggage system on. I get everything back together on Sunday the 23rd around 6 pm or so. No carb tuning at all – just installed as she arrived. Just static timing adjustments. Time to take her for a spin around the neighborhood. Ooooh, the carbs sound good...

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The brakes work, but not great. I’ve been spoiled by the Ducati….Also the brake lines look dry rotted, but there’s no time for that now. I place an order for SS braids from Randakk’s on the 24th, drop shipping to the Honeybadger’s place for good measure. Now I have to pack for the trip and figure where everything goes. The plan is for me to haul the bike in the back of my pickup to the rendezvous point. But before I get that far, I should take her to work and she how she does on a trip longer than around the block. So on Tuesday, 4 days prior to launch I take her on the 100 mile r/t commute. It’s 60F in the morning and all is well. Coming home however, it’s a record-setting 100F and it seems that I am riding on a furnace. But she makes it - here's the view prior to leaving home.

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The 11th Hour

I manage to self-load the beast into the truck and get the KTM in also (facing backward). It’s Wednesday evening and I start my journey east after work – only 1,400 miles to go. Fortunately, the new Ram 1500 Eco-diesel purrs along and the sweet Alpine sound system keeps me going. However with the additional weight, my speed and the Goldwing fairing peaking far above the cab of the truck, my mileage drops to between 16 and 18 mpg. I get to Ambridge late Thursday night – last opp tomorrow to tweak prior to kick off. Jeckyll would arrive in a few hours, having left Saskatoon the same day I left Denver. Ike would roll in later in the evening, a relatively short trip from Washington DC.

Thankfully the braided brake lines were in and I could install them – done quickly and definitely an improvement. I decide to mount by faux Givi top case from the Ducati on the chrome rack for more capacity. But the sissy bar back rest is seized on – time for the sawz-all…. After Jeckyll gets in, he encourages me to check my valve lash. As I pull the left valve cover off, I notice one of the cam clamp bolts (?) was resting against the inside cover – about an inch from being thread engaged at all. That is very bad. Inspecting the others, I find about half are not tight. To make matters fun, Honeybadger is not a mechanic and does not have many tools; but his FIL does. We get an ancient torque wrench (Sunnen PN-50 look it up), tighten the bolts and set the valve clearances – no wonder she ran HOT that day. And yes, I was an idiot for not checking prior. But I get her together and she runs well enough to continue the trip. Certainly couldn’t back out now…

The others were doing their last minutes checks with less issues than I was finding. Honeybadger’s tires were low, his brakes poor but full speed ahead. One critical oversight on his part – he chose to replace the tires with similar street tires. The rest of us knew what awaited on the dirt portion of the trip and had opted for semi-knobbies. After nearly constant ridicule, the Honeybadger was getting nervous about this gross oversight.

Ike had his bike dialed in and was ready to go. Jeckyll was sorted also; or so we thought. You see, Jeckyll is a big guy. He also brings along a CPAP machine and a folding chair big enough to support his manliness (all 350 lbs of it). So, he opts to pull a trailer - not good as I'll show in the ride report. Here are the bikes being worked on the eve of our journey:

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HomeMadeSin
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Bottom Gear 4848 - To Labrador and Back

#2

Post by HomeMadeSin »

Pre-ride write-up here: http://ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=58586. Now for the ride.

Here's the planned route:

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According to Google, this is 4,848 miles. Using a play off the Top Gear show, we call this the Bottom Gear 4848 trip.

Day 1:

We kick off from Ambridge, PA early in the morning of 19 August 2015. Ike on his beautiful 1978 Goldwing, neatly packed - almost OCD style - with everything in its rightful spot. Honeybadger on his 1977 trophy winning 'Wing, always chasing or howling at the moon. I'm on the trailer park special - a 1977 multicolored and multi-keyed GL1000. And Jeckyll is on his blue Plasti-Kote inaugural 1975 pulling a very expensive trailer. Here we are prior to departure:

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Now Jeckyll is a successful guy and he likes his toys. And he has lots of them. So in addition to the CPAP machine and the Honda portable generator required for when camping, he has this long, modern trailer to house the 300 lb rated folding chair, clothing and even a Redverz moto-tent. Add to that, he brings along a DeLorme satellite communicator so all that are interested can follow our route on-line. Pretty cool stuff.

But sometimes things fail. Sometimes in a big way. This is what we call an epic fail. After we proudly leave Honeybadger's house, we head down toward the highway that will lead us toward I-79 North. The goal is to get to the border and camp in the 1000 Island area of NY, along the St. Lawrence River. But first, we need to top off gas. All goes well and we head to the stop light to turn left along the Ohio. Green light is awaiting us: Honeybadger in the lead, Ike behind him, Jeckyll in 3rd and I'm the caboose. As Jeckyll leaves the gas station, his expensive trailer starts leaning left, right, left, right, left and so on. Just as we are turning left onto the highway, I am 100% confident the trailer is going to win the battle and eject Jeckyll from his bike. Less than 2 miles from the start and we're going to have an accident.

I'm having flashbacks to our 2009 Alaskan trip, where we lost (injured) a rider as he high-sided overtaking a semi in the first hour. Is it me? Am I the bad luck charm?

As I stated before, Jeckyll is a big guy; strong also. He had no idea why his bike was wobbling left and right. He was just determined to win - after all we had a trip ahead of us. After a couple hundred yards, he could tell whatever was giving him grief wasn't going away. We pull over on a narrow shoulder to take stock of the situation.

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Fortunately, a good Samaritan and fellow motorcyclist had just passed in his truck and turned around to help. We also get Honeybadger's son to drive down to help. We unload the trailer and pull over at the next light and into the local hardware store parking lot. Quickly, we eliminate some items and redistribute the rest to the other bikes. I picked up the gas grill and bottles - lucky me. But, we are riding!

Its good weather and we make decent time after the rough start. Somewhere in NY, we stop for a bite to eat; here are the bikes as they were - mostly - for the rest of the trip.

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Since we were behind schedule and rushed, we did not take much pictures on Day 1. Our destination was a campground in Wellesley Island State Park and we arrive after dark. Good time to learn how to set-up our tents in the dark. Missed dinner as well...

Day 2:

Since we are so close to the border, we get across early, before any noticeable traffic. Welcome to Canada.

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Now, we switch to Jeckyll leading since he is the Canuck. Our goal is to get around Quebec City - hopefully north of it. Also, we are to meet Jeckyll's boss, the business owner whose idea we sort of plagiarized. He's on a new Yamaha Tenere and will meet us somewhere around Montreal. Now we are 5 strong and ready to take on the world.

We quickly notice a very strange trend about Quebec people. The motorcyclists do not offer the usual "waive". Instead it seems like they stare you down, very similar to the "blanks" in The World's End. This is what it looks like:

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Meanwhile, my bike has developed a hatred toward the heat. As we prepare to enter Quebec City proper, traffic snarls slow us to a crawl. Ol' Bessie doesn't approve and I have to pull over. In addition, Jeckyll's bike is irritable as well.

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The local police stop to check in on us, and we learn that they will back around to ensure we get off the road. How sweet. Plus everyone else speaks French and only limited English.

After we get to the motel, we order pizza and start looking after my bike. It is here we learn I have 1100 coils and the parallel 3 ohm Dyna ballast wiring. We learn that the two rear spark plugs are awfully dark - coil problems? Plus Jeckyll's bike seems like it could use some fresh plugs.

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After a fair amount of work, I think we have a plan - hit the local Honda dealer when they open the next day.

Day 3:

During breakfast, we meet a local couple riding a GS650 and pulling a trailer with bicycles. They had recently traveled up the Manicouagan River road we were planning so we downloaded what we could. We manage to find the local Honda dealer - but no coils or anything beyond spark plugs. We take every plug they have (10) and ride on. However, the cute girl in parts asks what we are doing - we explain, even highlighting the street tires on the Honeybadger-mobile. She laughs at him, the fool. He is getting more anxious about the unpaved portion and we are enjoying every bit of it.

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We have a long way to go today, with the goal to make it to Manic 5. At Baie-Sainte-Catherine, we prepare for our first ferry:

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Of course since we are in Quebec, we have to have authentic poutine.

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Some shots along the way toward Baie Comeau:

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After hitting the local WalMart in Baie Comeau, we grab some pizza and then hightail it inland toward Manic Cinq. As luck would have it, it was starting to get dark. Plus, we wound up behind some trucks. What a fantastic road for bikes - but what a drab getting stuck behind trucks. With 5 bikes with riders of various experience, we played it safe : mostly. There was a fear that if we did not get to the hotel in time, we would be out of luck. Nobody was int he mood to put up tents and it was cold as well. So I ride to the front and signal to Jeckyll to put the hammer down. The rest of us would take it easy, but someone needed to get to the hotel ASAP. That was all the encouragement he needed. You mean I can ride it like I stole it? YES!!!

So he went and the rest of us plugged along. We eventually get there around 11 or so, beat and cold.

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Out of nowhere someone breaks out a 1/5 of liquor. Well, how could I turn that down?
HomeMadeSin
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Re: Bottom Gear 4848 - To Labrador and Back

#3

Post by HomeMadeSin »

Day 4:

As we awoke, it appeared that an excellent day was in the making. But some of us...cough...weren't as spry as we had hoped. Liquor always makes for a bad morning greeting for me at least.
We get the down low from a local paramedic about our journey and he just adds to the Honeybadger's anxiety about his tire choice. Gotta alove it!

Since the hotel is very close to the dam, that is our first stop. Welcome to the Daniel-Johnson Dam, otherwise known as Manic-5. It's the largest buttress dam of its type in the world.

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https://photos.smugmug.com/Canadian-Mar ... 3139-L.jpg[/img]

Today's destination is Labrador City. But we have plenty of road (and gravel) ahead of us. And unfortunately, rain was predicted. Because of the rain, I didn't take many pictures. But a very strange thing happened - the nearly limitless pothole parade in the dirt sections had taken a serious toll on my Vetter fairing. I was riding along one split second - then suddenly, as if magically - the top half of my windshield was laying in my lap. Not one to litter, I continue to ride with it on my lap for a few miles until collectively we stop. Then I wedge it between the grill and my faux Givi.

Just before we touch pavement again (outside the town of Fermont), we survey the bikes:

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In our exhausted, wet and mentally deficient state we simply pass the all important photo op at the welcoming provincial sign for Newfoundland and Labrador. No worries, we get it the next day - only a few miles of backtracking.

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So far, we had good luck getting rooms to stay in. Warm, with showers and a comfortable bed. No different tonight, which is good news for Jeckyll - an operating CPAP is critical. Well, as luck would have it, there was a power outage scheduled that evening. We try to rig up something using his battery and my inverter but the design engineers at Black & Decker did well to mess that up. So when the power went out, Jeckyll was up for the rest of the night.

Day 5:

Fortunately, he wasn't too irritable the next day. Perhaps those that had Blackberrys back in the day know what this means:

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Ike's bike must've had the starter disable switch removed. He kept starting it in gear with this being a common sight:

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Today's destination is Happy Valley- Goose Bay. Due to the projects in the area (road work and power station) accommodations are hard to come by. However, we eventually find a B&B in town - score! All pavement, plenty of rain as well. However I can offer the following for your review:

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She was climbing as well but interrupted prematurely. For a fully loaded, un-tuned and somewhat tired bike, that ain't bad I'd say. When we arrive at the B&B, the owner - a lifelong HV-GB resident - scoffs at the tires on the Honeybadger ride. More angst...

Day 6:

Headed toward Port Hope Simpson. Here's where the fun begin; time for the real deal. 280 or so miles without pavement. Would Honeybadger make it? In our attempt to encourage him, we show him the Honeybadger video of internet lore (he had not seen it). The Honeybadger don't care...

The first 19 miles or so of route 510 are paved and they are working on the rest. Until then, picture road crews sporadically scattered throughout, some deep loamy gravel/dirt mixtures with berms and very little traffic. And rain. That persistent rain. I loaned my Triple digit glove covers to Mr. Jones (Tenere) but anything this constant will seep through anything. Oh, did I mention that the Honeybadger had chosen mid-ankle high "waterproof" boots on the cheap? I tried to tell him that was a mistake.

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After this long, cold, wet ride we finally make it to the only hotel in Port Hope Simpson. Worn but feeling content, especially after the owner allows us to hang our wet gear in their furnace room. That was truly awesome.

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While there, we meet a couple riding from Texas on a new Triumph Explorer (with trailer). They are headed the way we came so we give them the low down. He had a blog going about the journey and we later found out he broke his trailer, pride and maybe more the next day. She flew home and he was going to continue less trailer.
HomeMadeSin
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Re: Bottom Gear 4848 - To Labrador and Back

#4

Post by HomeMadeSin »

Day 7:

We were not quite done with the dirt however. We had to catch a ferry over to Newfoundland (proper) in the afternoon. The ferry leaves Blanc-Sablon and is about 1.5 hours to Pigeon Cove, NL.

Thankfully, the day was dry with no rain. And the roads were firmer, with less gravel. Jeckyll and I trade bikes - he is amazed with the carbs and clutch on mine but just can't stand the floor boards. I fine his like a sewing machine - no punch but good brakes and much better foot support. He hammers mine for a bit and is now thinking about doing the same to his.

The dirt road ends at Red Bay so I rush ahead to setup for the epic moment that the Honeybadger hits tarmac again. Ike leads...

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A few shots around Red Bay:

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We do catch the ferry, just in time.

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We found another B&B in Flowers Cove for the evening.

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We decide to go for a swim. How cold? About 1/2"...

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Ol' blue basking in the setting sun:

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Day 8:

Time to head south toward Rocky Harbor. We had rain predicted and high winds. To the point we had some fun staying in our lanes...

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And more poutine...

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We found the local bar and restaurant (Ocean View) with live music. Mr. Jones is a singer also and offered to play - which he did - and rocked the house.

Day 8:

It's till too long to get to St. John's in one day's ride, so we set out to hit Twillingate - where Iceberg Alley originates. This time we find a campsite for just the second time (and last) we pitch tents. On the way:

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Twillingate is very cool - a very scenic place. I finally get a chance to take some real pics...

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My bike is struggling in rain. I can't make power at all. Eventually I figure out the spark plug drain holes are plugged on the left side. I have to resort to blowing them out with a straw to get them un-flooded enough to run halfway decent. A tremendous hit to gas mileage running on two cylinders....

Days 9, 10, 11:

Now we head to St. John's. We manage to book a house for the stay - a historic 3 story house not far from the fun downtown. Now we did this primarily because of the ferry schedules. We could head back west to the 8 hour ferry to Nova Scotia, but it would require backtracking. I hate that, so we opt for the 16 hour ferry to Nova Scotia, but it only runs three days a week. So, 3 days in St. Johns? No problem...

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We also decide to hit the eastern-most point in North America: Cape Spear.

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Found a great little breakfast place. Hungry anyone?

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We all decided to partake of a ceremony that enables you to become honorary Newfoundlanders. It involves saying a Newfoundlander phrase, taking a shot of Jamaican rum and kissing a frozen COD.

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Ike recalling the Quebec "waive"

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I spent a good hour or two freeing the blockage from the spark plug well drains. All is good now.

Day 12:

Time to get moving again. We pack up and head out. About 5 miles into it, my bike dies. In traffic. Nothing works. We troubleshoot for a while, and eventually find out the main fuse posts are rusted. Time to upgrade to a modern fuse system, We are pressed for time - if we miss the ferry we are screwed for a few days. At least it happened in St Johns and not in the middle of nowhere.

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After NAPA to the rescue, we continue our trek toward the ferry. Following protocol, I notice Jeckyll is not behind me, so I pull over. Honeybadger does as well. Eventually Jeckyll pulls up next to me and reaches into his vest. He pulls out a plastic piece that I can't quite place. Then he pulls out a foam piece - I think its coming to me...The final piece was a chrome screen. Looks just like...my...left carb filter assembly. All along my left knee had been making love to that carb and the clip must've come off. Jeckyll noticed it, reversed direction on the highway and tried to play Frogger to get it. A couple of semis flattened for good for before he could get it. I didn't have duct tape handy, but I did have electrical tape. A quick inverse arrangement and ghetto tape job got me back in operation. Pics later.

We make the ferry with less than a 1/2 hour to launch. That was close and this is one big ferry. Sleeping accommodations, restaurants, gambling and live entertainment. I could do this more often...

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Now since most of us have work on Monday, we realize once we get off the ferry it's balls out to get back to PA.

Day something or other:

We depart the ship and haul. Rain is headed are way and not the brief showers I'm used to here in CO.

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The next day:

We make it to Bangor, ME. Pretty cool to hit the beginning of I-95 - Now I can honestly say I've been along all of it. My other goal in this trip was to hit the last 3 states I have not been in: Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Time eliminated Vermont, but I got the other two.

We stop outside Wilkes-Barre and change out wet socks, etc. Honeybadger and I decide to ditch the rain gear that had pretty much faltered anyway. The radar indicated we were in the clear - LIES!!!

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After getting hit with a constant rain shortly after that pic, I throw in the towel and force a stop for the night.

We finish our journey back in Ambridge, PA about 1 pm on that Sunday the 13th. Here's what my bike looked like:

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For anyone considering the carbs like I did, look at the Walmart Tupperware roofs that I velcro'd to the side panels to keep rain out. How's that for classy?

If you want to see more pics, hit this : https://zeddwerksllc.smugmug.com/Canadi ... imes-2015/

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Re: Leading up to the Bottom Gear 4,848 trip

#5

Post by CYBORG »

great trip....great report
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Re: Leading up to the Bottom Gear 4,848 trip

#6

Post by Sandy »

CYBORG wrote:great trip....great report
+1
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Re: Leading up to the Bottom Gear 4,848 trip

#7

Post by Neil »

That was a journey all of you will remember for some time to come, thanks for sharing.
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Re: Leading up to the Bottom Gear 4,848 trip

#8

Post by KYpondman »

Great adventure. Wonderful story telling!
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Re: Leading up to the Bottom Gear 4,848 trip

#9

Post by Sagebrush »

Thanks for taking the time to write up your trip and posting it here. Epic and the misery only enhances the experience. I'm thinking your three day layover waiting for the ferry was a much needed rest. Its been my experience that folks planning on mixing camping with staying in motels rarely camp and end up regretting hauling all that camping gear along. I think that's been your experience as well.
Dean Spalding
Raleigh, NC

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

'82 Yellow GL1100
'81 Blue GL1100

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Rexsname
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Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2010 5:07 pm
Location: Prescott Valley, AZ

Re: Leading up to the Bottom Gear 4,848 trip

#10

Post by Rexsname »

I have a question reguarding the Ortlieb panniers that were mounted on the dark colored 'wing........Did he have any mounting issues with those bags or did they work out alright without saddlebag mounts? In other words, were they the type that just "Throw over" the back seat?
I also offer my thanks for writing this trip report. I very much enjoyed it!
REX
1982 GL1100
Gowing
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Re: Leading up to the Bottom Gear 4,848 trip

#11

Post by Gowing »

Four old Hondas, no major breakdowns, very impressive.
Well done!
Dave

1975 GL 1000
1980 XS650
1981 ct110
1972 F7 KAW 175
2000 moby blaze 40cc
Chihuahua (Ellie)
Chihuahua #2(Blaze)
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DocRoot
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Location: Vermont

Re: Leading up to the Bottom Gear 4,848 trip

#12

Post by DocRoot »

Great trip...
Time eliminated Vermont, but I got the other two.
... what? I've been eliminated??? giveup
Appreciate good people: they are hard to come by.
HomeMadeSin
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Re: Leading up to the Bottom Gear 4,848 trip

#13

Post by HomeMadeSin »

Rexsname wrote:I have a question reguarding the Ortlieb panniers that were mounted on the dark colored 'wing........Did he have any mounting issues with those bags or did they work out alright without saddlebag mounts? In other words, were they the type that just "Throw over" the back seat?
I also offer my thanks for writing this trip report. I very much enjoyed it!
REX
Yep, throw overs. No issues at all. Here are some pics:

Image

Image

Z
HomeMadeSin
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Re: Leading up to the Bottom Gear 4,848 trip

#14

Post by HomeMadeSin »

DocRoot wrote:Great trip...
Time eliminated Vermont, but I got the other two.
... what? I've been eliminated??? giveup
Sorry, it was no holds barred to return home and onto work. The plan was to head over to Burlington and then southwest towards P'Burgh. Now I just need Vermont, the Northwest Territories and Nanvut to round out all of US/Canada.

Z
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DocRoot
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Re: Leading up to the Bottom Gear 4,848 trip

#15

Post by DocRoot »

Now I just need Vermont,
You're always welcome anim-cheers1
Appreciate good people: they are hard to come by.
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